Closed testimony in voting fraud case

16 people appear before grand jury in six hours focusing on absentee ballots

KENNETH C. CROWE II Staff write, Times Union

By KENNETH C. CROWE II Staff writer

Published 1:33 pm, Tuesday, December 7, 2010

A television cameraman shoots the plaque on the wall for the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court House in Troy on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 as the Rensselaer County grand jury began hearing from witnesses in the ballot fraud investigation. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A television cameraman shoots the plaque on the wall for the grand...

A witness leaves the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court House in Troy on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 as the Rensselaer County grand jury began hearing from witnesses in a ballot fraud investigation. The woman did not give her name to reporters. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A witness leaves the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court...

A witness leaves the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court House in Troy on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 as the Rensselaer County grand jury began hearing from witnesses in a ballot fraud investigation. The woman did not give her name to reporters. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A witness leaves the grand jury room at the Rensselaer County Court...

A witness waits for the elevator at the Rensselaer County Court House in Troy on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 as the Rensselaer County grand jury began hearing from witnesses in a ballot fraud investigation. The woman did not give her name to reporters. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

A witness waits for the elevator at the Rensselaer County Court...

Jessica Boomhower talks with members of the media after she was called as a witness at the Rensselaer County Court House in Troy on Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010. A grand jury began hearing from witnesses in a ballot fraud investigation. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Jessica Boomhower talks with members of the media after she was...

Grand jury Jessica Boomhower squeezes past the media after talking to the press following her testimony in front of a grand jury investigating allegations of absentee ballot fraud in Troy. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Grand jury Jessica Boomhower squeezes past the media after talking...

Special Prosecutor Trey Smith leaves for a lunch break after leading a morning of testimony in front of a Rensselaer County grand jury investigating allegations of ballot fraud in Troy. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Special Prosecutor Trey Smith leaves for a lunch break after...

Special Prosecutor Trey Smith leaves for a lunch break after leading a morning of testimony in front of a Rensselaer County grand jury investigating allegations of ballot fraud in Troy. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

TROY -- A Rensselaer County grand jury focused Tuesday on whether absentee ballots were cast fraudulently last year as it heard testimony in an alleged voting fraud scandal, two witnesses said after testifying.

LoPorto and McDonough are among nine Democrats under investigation, but they are the only ones named as defendants in the subpoenas sent to grand jury witnesses last week. The two men could face felony charges if indicted by the grand jury.

Boomhower said that in her testimony she identified the men who came to her door for the absentee ballot, but in an interview given as she left the grand jury room she declined to say who they were.

Special Prosecutor Trey Smith declined to comment on the grand jury proceedings, which are secret. Witnesses, however, may discuss their testimony publicly.

The 14 other witnesses declined to speak to reporters. They were escorted in and out of the grand jury room by State Police Investigator John Ogden.

The Rensselaer County Legislature is expected to approve a bill of $20,562.37 submitted by Smith for his services as special prosecutor when it meets Dec. 14. The bill covers about 176.6 hours of work from Sept. 28, 2009 through Aug. 17.